the goan I network
PONDA
Believe it or not, even landslides can be used for political gains and this is exactly what happened when political drama unfolded in Ponda on Wednesday over the recent landslide at Kerye-Khandepar, with both PWD and Goa Forward Party (GFP) quick to announce a free bus service for locals.
On Wednesday, PWD Minister and MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar visited the site to take stock of ongoing work, while the road has been closed and traffic diversions are in place.
Around the same time, GFP leaders, Rajesh Verenkar and Durgadas Kamat, also visited the site and announced a bus service for the affected locals. They even made the registration numbers of buses public in the morning.
A group of locals from Kerye began arguing with Dhavalikar over the service road, complaining that it is still incomplete and they were facing hardship due to closure of the road on account of the landslide. Incidentally, Verenkar and Kamat were present while people confronted the MGP leader.
Later in the evening, MGP’s Ponda chief Dr Ketan Bhatikar visited the site and informed that the PWD had provided a bus service to the affected locals.
MGP supporters then took the bus at Kerye and kicked off the free bus service.
Later addressing a news conference in the MGP office, Dr Bhatikar said: “Nobody should derive political mileage from this issue. The PWD and National Highways Authority of India have made bus arrangements which will ferry passengers for free.”
Dr Bhatikar insisted that party leaders from the coalition government should respect the ‘coalition dharma’ and should not try to derive mileage from the situation.
Asked pointedly if he was referring to GFP, Dr Bhatikar replied: “You all are intelligent enough to know this.”
He said Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has been keeping watch on ongoing work from his office, while the PWD minister was closely monitoring the situation.
Road will be opened in
six days: Dhavalikar
PONDA: PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar that the Ponda-Khandepar stretch of the highway, which has been closed due to a landslide, would be reopened within six days as the work needed to be completed.
Speaking to the media after taking stock of situation, Dhavalikar said: “I know that people are suffering at present as this entire road is closed. But by keeping it open, we can’t risk the lives of commuters. Heavy machinery is at work on the site and this work will be completed in about days and the road will be reopened.”
Dhavalikar also said work on the service road would begin as soon as work on the landslide site is completed.
“I have instructed my officials to complete this work at the earliest so that public don’t face problems for long,” the minister said.
